Promoting understanding and cooperation across Christian traditions or, more broadly, groups.
Reach for it when describing deliberate collaboration across denominational boundaries
An ecumenical council coordinated winter shelter among six churches.
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal |
|
| literary |
everyday
Fits when welcoming participation across differences is the key quality
Careful Inclusive is much broader and does not identify religious cooperation.
warm
Fits when bringing separated groups together is the admired effect
Careful Unifying can suppress legitimate disagreement and says nothing about faith traditions.
professional
bridge-building
Fits when practical relationship work matters most
Careful Bridge-building can occur between any opposed groups and lacks ecumenical specificity.
professional
Fits when people from different religions are included
Careful Interfaith includes other religions, so it mislabels a specifically Christian initiative.
formal
interdenominational
Fits when several Christian denominations participate together
Careful Interdenominational describes participation but not necessarily a movement toward unity.
literary
catholic
Fits when broad, universal scope is meant in the lowercase sense
Careful Catholic is easily read as naming the Roman Catholic Church.
ecumenical service
The ecumenical service gathered congregations for shared remembrance.
ecumenical movement
The ecumenical movement created a joint food bank across the district.
ecumenical dialogue
Ecumenical dialogue continued despite sincere doctrinal differences.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated
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